Hostage Takeover
by darkstorm54
Summary: While docked at the Institute, the sub is overtaken by renegades led by Ex-Colonel Anthony Bradfield, taking Ski and Chip captive.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Seaview was docked at the Institute. Only ten crew members remained on the sub, including Chip and Ski.

Out of the shadows, men in black fatigues appeared, making their way toward the sub. The guards were quickly dealt with and they were soon making their way to the hatch.

Ski and Chip were the only ones on the bridge. Ski was near the hatch doing diagnostics when the hatch opened and one man came slowly down the ladder.

"There's two on the bridge," he said into a mic. "One's near where I am."

"Take care of him," another said. "Then we'll take care of the other. Just don't kill him."

"Roger that," the man said as he took out his gun, checking the tranquilizer darts.

He disappeared into the shadows and waited for Ski to get closer.

"Everything's good, Mr. Morton," Ski said checking over the panels for the flying sub.

He jerked as he felt something hit him in the neck. He reached up and pulled it out and saw it was a dart. The room did a spin on him, and he had to place a hand against the wall to steady himself.

"Mr. Morton?" he tried to call out but dizziness hit him.

"Hit him again," the leader said to the man.

Ski felt another prick, this time in his arm, and when he looked down, he saw another dart and the room spun faster.

Chip heard the commotion and came over to investigate to find Ski leaning against the wall.

"You alright Ski?" he asked hurrying over.

"Tranquilizers," Ski said fighting the darkness that was threatening to overcome him and he held out his hand to show him the two darts.

The next thing he knew another dart hit him in the arm and Ski blacked out. Chip lowered him to the floor and looked around quickly to find where they were coming from.

The hatch suddenly opened all the way and the men up top came down the ladder. Chip looked over at the locker that had the guns in it, but before he could move, a man stepped forward, gun pointed straight at him.

"I wouldn't advise that kind of action," the man said. "What's your name and rank?"

"Chip Morton, Commander," Chip said raising his hands. "And you are?"

"Mine's not important right now, Commander Morton," the man said. "How many men are left on here?"

"Eight," Chip said.

"Contact them and tell them to leave the sub," the man said. "We don't need them. You two are enough."

Chip knew he didn't have any choice with Ski down. He went over to the mic.

"This is Commander Morton," he said. "To the crew that is left, I need you to leave the ship immediately."

Patterson couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Is everything okay Mr. Morton," he asked as he picked the mic up in the missile room.

"Yes," Chip said. "Just do as you're told and go find Admiral Nelson at the Institute."

"Aye aye sir," Patterson said.

Patterson was concerned about the way Chip sounded and as soon as he was off the sub, he went straight to the Institute.

"I need to see Admiral Nelson," he told Nelson's secretary. "It's urgent."

"Hold on just a minute," she said standing up and opening the door to Nelson's office.

Nelson and Lee looked up as she came in.

"Sorry to interrupt sir, but Patterson needs to see you right away," she told them.

"Send him in," Nelson said.

"What's going on Patterson?" Lee asked as he came in and over to them.

"Commander Morton told everyone to leave the sub," he told him. "He sounded kind of weird."

"That's not like Chip," Nelson said and he switched on the link to the sub. "Nelson to Seaview. You there Chip?"

On the sub, Chip had been cuffed and was sitting down beside Ski, who, even though was still unconscious, was propped up against the wall, also cuffed.

"Give me the mic," the leader said as Nelson came through. "Good to hear your voice Admiral Nelson."

"Who are you and what are you doing on my sub?" Harry demanded.

"Pity you don't recognize my voice after all these years," the man said. "By the way, Mr. Morton and Kowaski is enjoying my company."

"Let me talk to one of them?" Harry demanded.

Chip was hauled to his feet and brought over to where the man held the mic out to him.

"Admiral," he said.

"Are you and Ski okay?" Harry asked.

"They knocked Ski out with tranquilizers," Chip said. "Other than that we're fine."

"Enough chatter," the man said taking the mic back. "I want you and Captain Crane on the sub now or they die."

Harry switched off the mic and looked at Lee.

"We have no choice," Lee said. "It's the only way to save Chip and Ski."

Harry nodded and turned to Patterson. "Go find Chief Sharkey and tell him what's going on," he told him. "Get the rest of the men together. We'll try to contact you later."

Patterson left to find Sharkey as Lee and Nelson got their stuff together, then headed out of the Institute and toward the docks to Seaview.

"Take them down to one of the quarters, lock them in and post a guard," the leader said looking at Chip and Ski.

Chip was hauled to his feet, while Ski was held between two others and was taken out of the bridge.

They stopped in front of the first cabin they came to and Chip saw that it was Nelson's. He was shoved into the room while they dumped Ski onto the bed, undid the cuffs and left, locking the door behind them.

"Reynolds, stand guard," one of them said to a young man with dark brown hair and blue eyes.

"Yes sir, Lieutenant Jernigan," Reynolds said saluting.

Chip thought he recognized the name Jernigan and tried to remember and then it came to him.

"Got it," he said. "Lieutenant Jeremy Jernigan. Works for Colonel Anthony Bradfield. Should have known that's who it was. He's the only one I know that has a grudge against Admiral Nelson."

On the bridge, the men watched as the hatch opened and Nelson and Crane descended the ladder.

"Now I remember you," Nelson said as he turned and recognized the man standing in front of the other men. "Ex-Colonel Anthony Bradfield."

"And it was thanks to you that I was kicked out of the navy too Nelson," Bradfield said.

"What do you want with us?" Harry demanded. "And where are my men?"

"They're safe. For now," Bradfield said. "Take them to their friends until I'm ready."

With guns trained on them, they were forced out of the bridge. Soon they came to Nelson's quarters with Reynolds standing guard.

"Unlocked it," Jernigan told him.

Reynolds took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

Chip looked up from where he sat on a chair as Nelson and Crane was pushed into the room and the door locked once more.

"You okay Chip?" Lee asked as he stood up. "How's Ski?"

"Still unconscious," Chip said looking over at Ski. "Must be some powerful tranquilizers. What do we do now?"

"Patterson is looking for Sharkey and then they'll gather the rest of the crew," Nelson said. "We need to try and contact them somehow."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It didn't take long for Patterson to find Sharkey and most of the crew from Seaview.

"Aren't you supposed to be on Seaview, Patterson?" Sharkey asked as Patterson hurried over to him.

"Admiral Nelson sent me to find you," Patterson said. "There's a problem."

Sharkey led him to a less crowded room and Patterson started telling him what was going on.

Meanwhile, Lee, Nelson and Chip were putting together a plan to take back the sub.

"We need to get into communications and try to reach Sharkey," Lee said. "The question is how? There's four of us against all of them."

"We'll figure out something," Nelson said. "And with Ski knocked out, it's just the three of us right now."

On the bridge, Bradfield and Jernigan stood talking at the front.

"As soon as possible we set a course for the island where we're meeting with Tajos," Bradfield said. "He'll deal with Nelson and the others himself."

Sharkey listened intently as what Patterson was telling him.

"Most of the men are here and I'm not sure where the rest is," Sharkey said. "Even if we don't get all of them, it should be enough to take back Seaview. Let's go talk to everyone."

Half an hour later, the twenty-seven men that were in the club was rounded up and they went in search for the more of men.

Consciousness slowly came back to Ski. His head felt heavy and slowly he was able to crack open his eyes. He could hear voices talking near him.

"Looks like someone's coming around," Lee said as he looked over at Ski, who had thrown one arm over his eyes.

"You okay Ski?" Chip asked as Ski tried to sit up.

"Yeah," Ski said squinting in the lights that were on in the room. "Dizzy."

Nelson turned on the lamp on his desk, then turned off the overhead lights to ease his uncomfortableness.

"Take it easy," Lee said. "We're working on a plan to get out of here. By now, Patterson should have located Sharkey and the rest of the crew."

Ski slowly fell back to sleep the tranquilizers still taking effect.

"I say the next time someone comes in, we take them and subdue them," Lee said. "We need to get out of here, contact Sharkey and somehow get weapons."

In the control room, Jernigan looked up from charts he was studying as Bradfield came in and over to him.

"Take Swan and Fields and bring Nelson and Morton to me," he told him. "If Crane and the other try to intervene, shoot 'em."

Jernigan motioned to the two men and they left to do what he asked. By the time Ski woke back up, he was feeling a whole lot better.

"Thanks," he said as Chip handed him a cup of water.

Just then they heard footsteps, then voices. Soon, they heard the key in the lock and the door swung open, revealing Jernigan and three men, guns drawn and pointed straight at them.

"Colonel wants your company, Nelson," Jernigan said and then looked at Chip. "You too, Mr. Morton. The rest of you, back up."

Swan kept his gun on Lee and Ski as Nelson and Chip were forced over to the door.

Lee glanced at Ski and nodded. They rushed the two men, quickly taking them down and wrestling their guns from them. At the same time, Nelson and Chip barreled into Jernigan, Fields and Reynolds.

They were able to subdue and dragged them into the room. They didn't know that Bradfield had followed them to make sure they did as they were told.

As they were tying them up, a shot rang out.

I know it's a little short, but the next chapter will be longer, I promise.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Sharkey, Patterson and the rest of the crew was close enough to Seaview that they could see six armed men standing guard.

"Take some men and take care of them," Sharkey said to Patterson. "I'm going to the Institute to get some wet suits."

As the shot rang out, Ski felt something slam into his side and when he looked down he saw blood and his knees crumpled. Lee caught him before he hit the floor and got him back on Nelson's bed.

"It's a good thing I decided to follow you down or they would've escaped," Bradfield said. He waved the gun toward Chip and Nelson. "Let's go or he gets another bullet."

The others got to their feet and pushed them out of the room where the door was shut and locked once more.

Lee rushed over to a cabinet and grabbed the first-aid kit. Ski was half-conscious and breathing heavily.

"You'll be okay Ski," he said as he cut through his shirt where he could see the wound better. He carefully rolled him onto his side and saw that the bullet had gone all the way through.

Reynolds glanced at the door when Lee started banging on it.

"Stand back from the door," Reynolds demanded. "What is it?"

"You tell your Colonel that we need a doctor down here," Lee yelled through the locked door.

Lee heard the young man walk away and hoped he was getting helped. He went back over to Ski who was watching him through half-closed eyes.

"Just hang in there Ski," Lee said as he applied pressure on the wounds, making Ski gasp in pain. "Hopefully, they'll send someone down."

Nelson and Chip were now in the control room, tied to chairs while Bradfield paced in front of them.

"You didn't have to shoot him," Nelson said as Bradfield stopped.

"He's just a liability," Bradfield said. "You and Crane are the main ones we are after. I really don't need Mr. Morton."

Just then, Jernigan rushed over and whispered something to him.

"Seems like Mr. Crane is requesting medical help for your friend," Bradfield said. "I should just let him die."

"You let him die and you'll never get any cooperation from us," Chip said.

Bradfield whirled around and punched Chip right in the stomach, doubling him over.

"I didn't ask for your input," he yelled. "But you do have a point. Ramon!"

A young Hispanic male came over and saluted.

"Go down to where we have the prisoners and patch up Mr. Kowalski," Bradfield said. "Follow Mr. Jernigan."

"You okay Chip?" Nelson asked as Chip finally caught his breath.

"Yeah," Chip said. "Man, he hits hard."

Patterson and seven crewmembers were sneaking up on the guards outside where Seaview was docked.

"Use stun only," Patterson said quietly to them. "We'll put them in that building over there, tied up."

Lee glanced up from where he was checking on the bleeding when he heard the door open and Jernigan came back in with another man who had a bag in his hand.

"Move away and let Ramirez patch your friend up," Jernigan ordered Lee. "Any false moves and he dies."

Lee lowered himself into the chair at the desk as Ramirez knelt next to Ski and examined the wounds.

"He's lost a lot of blood," the young man said. "The best I can do is stitch him up, but he really needs a transfusion."

"Do what needs to be done for now," Jernigan said.

Ramirez gave Ski a shot for the pain and soon Ski relaxed and Ramirez started stitching up the bullet wounds.

"Done," he said as he placed bandages over the stitches. "He shouldn't move much or he could tear them. He'll wake up in about an hour."

Lee watched as they left. He got to his feet and covered Ski with the blanket then pulled the chair up next to the bed to keep watch.

It didn't take long to subdue the guards. Soon all six were tied up and gagged and locked up in the building.

Sharkey arrived ten minutes later with four wet suits.

"Wait for my signal, then move in," Sharkey told Patterson as he, Hardy, Thomas and Jenkins pulled the wet suits on.

Patterson watched as they disappeared into the water.

Nelson watched as Chip was forced to his feet and held between two men.

"If you want to keep him alive, you will cooperate," Bradfield said. "And that means, anything I want. And to make sure you do."

Nelson could do nothing but watch as Bradfield punched Chip repeatedly until Chip was barely able to stand even with the two men holding him up.

"Take 'em back to their friends," he said after one last punch.

Nelson was untied and forced out of the room with the other two half dragging Chip behind him.

Lee glanced up as he heard footsteps. He looked over at Ski who was still out and back to the door as it opened and Nelson was shoved in. Chip was dropped on the floor then the door was shut and locked once more.

"What in the hell happened?" Lee asked as they knelt beside Chip.

"They did this to show me what they'll do to get us to cooperate," Nelson said. "Get the cot out of the closet. How's Ski?"

"They stitched and bandaged the wounds but he's lost a lot of blood," Lee said as he set up the cot.

They were able to lift Chip, who was unconscious, onto the cot, and covered him with a blanket.

"I guess we just sit back and wait for a rescue party," Lee said as he and Nelson sat up against the wall.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Sharkey and the three crewmembers were closing in on the hatch leading to the missile room.

"Be careful when we get in," he told them through their comms. "Who knows how many men are in there?"

"Yes sir," they answered in unison.

In the control room, Bradfield was in communications talking to Victor Tajos.

"We have everything under control sir," he said. "We'll be leaving in the next hour."

"Good job Bradfield," Tajos said. "Make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes sir," Bradfield said then cut the transmission and turned to Jernigan. "Is everything ready?"

"We're right on schedule," Jernigan said. "We'll be ready to sail at 0930."

"Perfect," Bradfield said rubbing his hands together. "Soon, Nelson will pay for what he did to me."

Lee had dozed off while Nelson stayed up to watch over Ski and Chip. Looking at his watch, he saw that nearly eight hours had passed.

Hearing a groan, he looked over at Chip and saw that his head was moving from side to side as he started to come around.

"Easy Chip," he said moving over to him.

"Man, it feels like I've been run over by a truck," Chip said as he managed to sit up.

"Not a truck, just Bradfield's fists," Nelson said. "He did it so I knew what would happen if we didn't cooperate."

"How's Ski?" Chip asked glancing over at Ski.

"They did patch him up but he's lost a lot of blood," Nelson said. "They gave him something for the pain."

"What time is it?" Chip asked.

"Almost 0700," Nelson answered. "Why don't you go back to sleep for now?"

Chip soon fell back asleep and Nelson sat back against the wall, facing the door but also able to keep an eye on Ski when he woke up.

Sharkey and the others finally made it to the hatch in the missile bay. Sharkey went in first, making sure he opened the hatch door slowly.

He slowly eased it open enough to squeeze through. He quickly shed the wet suit, listening for any noise.

"Missile room's clear," he radioed to the others. "Head on in."

Soon Hardy, Thomas and Jenkins joined him. They stowed the wetsuits in a storage compartment and soon were sneaking out of the room. Sharkey and Hardy went one way while Thomas and Jenkins went in the other direction.

Nelson had just dozed off when Ski finally started to come around.

Ski's side felt like it was on fire but he finally managed to open his eyes. He found he was on his back and there was pressure on his stomach and back.

Lee was started to wake up when he heard movement from the bed and saw Ski trying to turn onto his side.

"Careful Ski," Lee said getting up and over to him.

He helped him turn on his side, but the pain intensified so he had no choice but to stay on his back.

"The bullet went all the way through but they had one of their men stitch you up," Lee said. "You shouldn't move too much or you'll tear them. You'll be a little weak from the blood loss."

He propped Ski up with a pillow and handed him a cup filled with water. His hands shook a little but he was able to take a few drinks.

Sharkey halted at a corner and Hardy stopped right behind him. Carefully, Sharkey peeked around the corner and saw a young man standing just outside Nelson's cabin.

"They must have Nelson and the others in there," Sharkey said to Hardy.

Looking around, Sharkey took a wrench hanging on the wall and banged it hard on the wall.

Reynolds' head jerked around at the sound. Pulling out his sun, he headed toward the noise.

Nelson and Chip woke with a start as the loud noise reverberated through the room.

"What in the…?" Chip said.

Sharkey and Hardy tied Reynolds' hands and feet and put him in one of the cabins nearby and locked it. After taking the key to Nelson's cabins from the young man, they headed towards the cabin.

Lee, Chip, Nelson and Ski listened as they heard two pairs of footsteps in the hall. Then the door swung open.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Sharkey!" Nelson said, very glad to see him.

Everyone sighed in relief to see the Chief.

"How did you get on board?" Chip asked.

"Missile room," Sharkey said. "There's no one at all in there. Everyone okay?"

"Ski's been shot but doing okay," Lee said. "And Chip's a little beat up."

"We need to get weapons," Nelson said. "Bradfield and Jernigan are in the control room."

Since Ski was hurt and in no shape to help, Sharkey gave him the extra gun he was carrying.

"Use this to stay in contact with us in case anything happens," Sharkey said giving him a walkie.

"I think we need to move him to another room," Nelson said. "Once they find out that their guard isn't here, they'll storm the room. There's a cabin around the corner. We'll take him there and make sure the doors locked."

Chip helped Ski sit up and soon he was on his feet with Chip's help. Holding his side, he limped over to the door, following the others, with Sharkey and Hardy bringing up the rear.

They looked both ways then turned left, went down the next corridor and entered an empty cabin where Ski sank down on the bed.

"We'll be back," Lee told him. "Don't open the door for nobody but us."

"Be careful," Ski said as he tried to get comfortable.

"Use that walkie to contact Patterson and tell him to be ready to move in in about twenty minutes," Nelson said.

Ski switched on the walkie as they left the room.

"Gotcha Ski," Patterson said after hearing what Ski had to say

"Colonel Bradfield, Reynolds isn't at his post," Jonathan Mesimer said as he hurried into the control room and over to where he and Jernigan was standing.

"Keep preparing to launch," Bradfield told Jernigan. "I'm going to check for myself."

Ski had dozed off when he heard hurried footsteps going past the cabin. He carefully sat up the rest of the way and with a slight effort was able to get to his feet, almost losing his balance. Limping over to the door, he listened and waited.

Bradfield was furious when he saw Reynolds wasn't at his post. He turned the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it swung right open.

"That idiot," Bradfield yelled slamming the door shut.

He started back the way he had come trying every door and finding all of them unlocked.

Ski backed up as Bradfield was just one room away from where he was. Pulling his gun out, he waited.

Nelson and the others were getting closer to the control room. They knew Bradfield wasn't there, because they had to quickly duck into a room as he stormed by.

"Let's hope he doesn't find Ski," Lee said. "We should be able to get control of the sub with him gone for now."

"Patterson will be ready to come in about five minutes," Sharkey said glancing at his watch.

They had stopped at the master of arms and was able to get weapons.

Ski stepped back a little as the door knob turned, then with more force as Bradfield tried his hardest to get the door open.

The next thing Ski knew Bradfield kicked the door open with a slam. Ski waited as Bradfield stepped through, his gun out.

"Hold it right there," Ski ordered stepping up behind him, his gun pointed at Bradfield's back. "Drop the gun and turn around."

Bradfield lowered the gun and looked at Ski over his shoulder in time to see Ski sway a little. He turned around fast and slammed the butt of the gun into Ski's stomach.

Ski doubled over from the pain. He felt blood start to flow and knew that some of the stitches had tore.

"Where's the others?" Bradfield demanded as he grabbed Ski by the arm. "If you don't tell me, I'll put another bullet in you."

"They're on their way to the control room," Ski said fighting the darkness that threatened to overcome him.

"Let's go," Bradfield ordered pulling him toward the door.

Ski stumbled and would have fallen but Bradfield kept him on his feet.

Patterson glanced at his watch and signaled for the rest of the men to follow him. They made their to Seaview and headed for the hatch that led to the control room.

In the control room, Jernigan was checking all the controls in preparation to get underway.

He turned when he heard commotion and he saw four of his men pushed into the room followed by Nelson and the others since they had met back up with Thomas and Jenkins.

"Drop the guns and put your hands up," Lee demanded.

"Get 'em," Jernigan demanded, drawing his gun.

Suddenly the hatch above opened and more men led by Patterson came down and it didn't take long to take everyone's gun away.

"Take them all to the brig and post guards."

"Is anyone hurt Harry?" Doc asked coming over as the men were led away.

"Kowalski was shot," Nelson said. "I'll take him to you. Afterwards, you can check on Chip, who had to go through Bradfield punching the heck out of him." He turned Lee and Chip. "Have us ready to sail in two hours. I'll contact the police to pick up our prisoners."

Nelson and Doc left heading to the cabin they had left Ski in.

Bradfield stopped as he heard footsteps. He'd already had to hide when his men was walked by. He glanced at Ski, who was fighting to stay awake. He pulled Ski in front of him, holding the gun to his back.

Nelson and Doc stopped when they rounded the corner and saw Ski standing there.

"You should be lying down," Doc said, noticing how pale and sweaty Ski was.

"He had no choice," Bradfield said appearing behind him. "If you don't want him to die, you'll find a way for us to leave this sub."

"All right," Nelson said as they raised their hands. "I can take you wherever you need on the Flying Sub. Let Doc take care of him."

"He can on the way to our destination," Bradfield said. "Walk!"

Bradfield kept a hold on Ski as they walked, heading back to the control room.

Chip and Lee both looked up as they came in.

"What's going on?" Lee demanded.

"Stop right there," Bradfield said yanking Ski in front of him, making him gasp in pain.

"Chip, go get the Flying Sub ready to launch," Nelson said, then turned to Lee. "We have no choice."

Lee nodded after seeing the fresh blood on Ski's uniform.

Five minutes later, the Flying Sub was ready to go and Bradfield motioned Nelson forward, still keeping a firm grip on Ski.

When Doc followed, Bradfield turned. "We don't need anymore company," he said. "This one's enough."

Nelson went first and then helped Ski down. He helped get Ski strapped in the seat behind him as Bradfield came down, closed the hatch and strapped himself in.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Where exactly are you taking us?" Nelson said as he strapped himself in the last chair.

"Get going and I'll tell you," Bradfield said.

Soon the Flying Sub was out of the water, heading south.

On Seaview, Lee, Chip and Sharkey were talking.

"I switched on the locator when I was getting the Flying Sub ready," Chip said.

"Good," Lee said. "Take us down 1,000 feet and let's go after them."

On the Flying Sub, Nelson kept on looking back at Ski, who had passed out not long after they had taken off.

"There will be someone to take care of your friend when we get where we are going," Bradfield said to Nelson. "My boss wouldn't like it if he didn't get any cooperation from you if you're friend is suffering."

Nelson shot him a glare and Bradfield just laughed.

"When we get to Cuba, take it down," Bradfield said. "There will be people meeting us not far from Havana."

It wasn't long before they were over Cuba and Nelson landed in the water. Ski was awake by the time they landed. The bleeding had pretty much stopped, but he was pale.

Nelson went out first, followed by Ski, then Bradfield.

"There's a car over there," he said pointing. "You drive Nelson."

Ski lied down in the backseat while Nelson took the wheel with Bradfield beside him.

On Seaview, Lee and Chip were at the helm.

"Is the Flying Sub on sonar, Patterson?" Lee asked.

"Yes sir," Patterson said. "Looks like they're heading for Cuba."

It wasn't long before Nelson was ordered to pull over and leave the car hidden in some trees.

Bradfield kept a firm grip on Ski as they walked into the trees heading for Havana. Bradfield had no idea Nelson had a locator hidden in a secret pocket in his jacket so Seaview could follow them.

Before long, they came across three men who waited beside a car.

"Get in," Bradfield said.

Ski was put in the back and Nelson in the front. Both in the middle, surrounded by two men.

On Seaview, Lee, Chip and Sharkey were putting together a plan for when they reached Cuba.

"I'll take a party of five men in one of the boars and pick up Nelson's trail," Lee said. "Chip, you'll follow with Sharkey and ten more men. We'll meet up around here."

He made a circle on the map not far inland.

"Make sure everyone's armed," Sharkey said.

Harry had no idea where they were being taken They were being taken farther into the jungle.

He glanced back at Ski and could tell he was in pain because of the bumpy road they were on.

Thirty minutes later they pulled up at a compound set deep in the jungle.

"Let's go," Bradfield said as they got out of the car. "My employer is very eager to meet you." He turned to the two men that held up Ski. "Roger is waiting to aid Mr. Kowalski."

They entered the door. While Nelson was taken through double doors, Ski was taken upstairs.

"Our doctor Roger Alvarado will take good care of him," Bradfield said.

Nelson just glared at him as they came to a sitting room where a fire was going in the fireplace.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Senor Nelson," a middle-aged man said rising from a chair in front of the roaring fire. "Where is Mister Jernigan?"

"He was detained with the rest of our men," Bradfield said. "I also wasn't able to bring Crane as well."

"That's quite okay," the man said. "Leave us. I want to talk to Mister Nelson alone. Keep me informed on how Mister Kowalski is doing."

Bradfield nodded curtly and he and the others left, leaving Nelson and the man alone.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Nelson said as the man pointed to a chair and Nelson lowered himself into the chair.

"The name's Victor Tajos," the man said as he sat back down. "As to what I want, you'll find out soon enough."

Meanwhile, Ski was upstairs lying on a table while a Hispanic male looked at the wounds.

"It's definitely infected," Dr. Alvarado said. "I'll need to clean them and restitch it." He turned to a woman standing on the other side of the table. "Get two units of blood ready." She turned and disappeared through a door and he turned back to Ski. "I'm going to give you something for the pain."

He turned and filled a syringe and injected it into Ski's arm and soon Ski relaxed.

The woman appeared with bags of blood. She started an IV and hooked up the first bag. Then they started cleaning the wounds, restitching them and bandaging them.

"We need to keep an eye on the wounds," he said. "The infection's pretty bad."

The woman nodded as she took Ski's vitals. He was running a fever due to the infection so they hooked up some antibiotics up to the IV.

"He'll be fine after the transfusions and the antibiotics," Alvarado said.

"I'm going to get us something to eat," she said. "I'll be back in about ten minutes."

Alvarado nodded and sat down at his desk to fill out some papers.

Downstairs, Nelson looked up as the woman came in.

"Doc says he's going to be fine," she told them. "We're giving him blood and have him hooked up to antibiotics due to infection."

"Thank you Ms. Johnson," Victor said. "Ask Jamie and Luis to come in here if you would."

She left and two young men came in not long after.

"Take Admiral Nelson to the third room on the left side on the second floor," Victor said to them, then turned to Nelson. "We will continue our conversation later, after you've gotten something to eat and some rest."

Nelson got to his feet and out the door, the two right behind him.

Lee and five crewmembers that included Patterson made it to a secluded spot in Cuba. They hid the boat and disappeared into the jungle as quick as they could.

"Admiral is southeast about twenty miles," Patterson said to Lee.

"Let's go," Lee said. "The rendezvous is eight miles from our location."

Nelson looked around the room he had been taken to. He knew the door was locked and the two windows had bars and was bolted from the outside. He sat down on the bed, exhaustion starting to take its toll. Stretching out, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Dr. Alvarado had started to doze off when Ski started to wake up. The movement woke the doctor up and he went over to him.

"Easy there," he said. "You'll still be weak for a little while, but you've had two blood transfusions and a round of antibiotics to fight the infection from the gunshot wounds."

He filled a plastic cup with water and lifted Ski's head so he could drink some just as the woman came in the room.

"Please inform Mr. Tajos that Mr. Kowalski is awake," he told her. "Also see if you can find some food for him."

She hurried out of the room, nearly running into Victor.

"Sorry sir," she said. "I was just coming to find you. Mr. Kowalski just woke up."

"Thank you Ms. Johnson," he said as he went into the room she had just come out of and she headed for the stairs.

Alvarado was just helping Ski sit up as Victor came in.

"It is good to see you're doing good Mister Kowalski," Victor said. "Is he able to be moved?"

"He's weak but he can be moved Mr. Tajos," Alvarado told him. "I just sent Renee to get some food for him."

"I will inform Ms. Johnson of where he is," Victor said. "Come."

They helped Ski to his feet and his knees almost gave out on him, but he was able to regain his balance. Alvarado swung one arm over his shoulder and headed for the door, following Tajos.

Nelson woke as he heard the door open and he sat up as Tajos entered followed by Alvarado and Ski.

"You look a whole lot better Ski," Nelson said as the doctor lowered him down on the bed.

The trip had been short but he could tell Ski was in pain and sweating a little. Alvarado disappeared into the small bathroom and came back out with a cup of water and handed Ski some pills.

"Take these," he said. "They're a mild painkiller."

They left, locked the door once more.

"What do they want?" Ski asked Nelson as he swallowed the pills with the water.

"I don't really know," Nelson said. "We talked for over thirty minutes but I didn't find out a thing."

It didn't take long for the pills to take effect. With Nelson's help, Ski got up and laid down at the head of the bed and was soon fast asleep.

Lee and his team had been at the rendezvous point for over thirty minutes when Chip, Sharkey and their men showed up.

"Have you heard or seen anyone around since you got here?" Chip asked as they walked over to where Lee was standing.

"Nothing yet," Lee said. "According to the locator, the Admiral is about twelve miles away. I'm taking some men out scouting. I'll radio if we find anything."

Chip nodded and Lee, Patterson and three others headed out of camp.

"Anything yet?" Lee asked Patterson as they walked along, keeping a sharp lookout for anybody.

"I'm getting a faint reading but it's still a way aways," Patterson said. "The signal is coming from that." He pointed straight ahead.

"We'll look around some more then we'll head back to the others," Lee said.

At the compound, Nelson was sitting on a chair near the bed. Ski was still sound asleep. He looked up abruptly as the door opened and the woman appeared with a tray of food.

"This is for the two of you," she said sitting it down on the table near him. "Make sure he eats."

With that she walked out and he heard the lock click shut. He stood and crossed over to the tray and found two plates of food. He placed one of the napkins over the other and took the other plate back over to the chair and sat down.

This chapter's a little short, but I promise the next will be longer. I kinda have writer's block right now since I'm working on more than this story. The next chapter will be up soon, I promise.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Not far from the compound, Patterson, Sharkey and Lee were scouting out the place.

"Looks like they have guards everywhere," Patterson said. "Might be hard trying to find a way in."

"Let's head back and make a plan," Lee said.

In the room, Harry had finished eating and was sitting in a chair looking out one of the windows when Ski started to wake up, hissing in pain when he moved the wrong way.

"Easy Ski," Harry said as he helped Ski sit up.

He picked up the other plate of food and brought it over.

"Thanks," Ski said and started to eat. "Any sign of the others?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "But I'm sure they're on their way. Probably close by."

"I hope so Admiral," Ski said.

"We hope so also Admiral Nelson," a voice from the doorway said and they saw Tajos standing there. "I would like nothing better than to get my hands on Captain Crane."

"And why's that?" Nelson demanded.

"All in due time, Admiral," the man said grinning then slammed the door shut and they heard the lock turn.

After Ski finished eating, they sat around talking. Back at camp, Lee and the others were sitting around making plans to infiltrate the compound and rescue Nelson and Ski.

"Patterson, you and your team will go in from the left. Chip from the right. Chief from the back and I'll go in from the front," Lee said then glanced at his watch. "Get your gear ready. We leave at 2230."

At the compound, Bradfield was in a meeting with Tajos.

"We know his men are probably not far from here," Bradfield said to him.

"I know exactly where they are," Tajos said. "There are cameras everywhere, even hidden in trees. I've known since they landed. We just have to wait."

"What should we do about Nelson?" Bradfield said.

"Nothing for now," Tajos said. "Once Crane is here, they'll be used as bait to lure him into our grasp."

Bradfield laughed and Tajos joined him in it.


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

Lee looked up as the men gathered around.

"You all have your orders," he said to them. "We infiltrate the compound, find the Admiral and Ski and get out of there."

The team separated, all heading for the compound.

Tajos sat at a desk, littered with monitors watching the whole thing.

"Definitely splitting up," he said turning to Bradfield, who was standing behind him. "Take care of them. Just don't do anything to Crane. I want him alive."

Bradfield nodded curtly and left to the room to put the plan in action.

In their room, Ski was sitting on the edge of the bed as Nelson stood looking out the window.

"See anything?" Ski asked walking up to him.

"Not yet," Harry said turning to him. "How you feeling?"

"A lot better than I was," Ski said. "Still stings, especially when I move the wrong way."

"Just be careful," Harry said.

"You know I will," Ski said. "You don't have to worry about that, Admiral?"

Chip and his team of five were at the east side of the compound when he heard a noise from above. He quickly looked up in time to see a grenade falling straight toward them.

"Move," he shouted at the others as he dove to the side.

They all scattered as the grenade got closer and hit the ground.

Chip was sent flying, hitting the side of the compound hard, as it exploded.

"You okay Mr. Morton?" one of the crewmembers asked running over with the others right behind him.

Chip tried to get to his feet, but his was throbbing. Raising a hand to the back of his head, he saw blood when he brought down his hand.

"I'll be fine," Chip said as they helped him to his feet. "Just give me a minute."

"You don't have a minute," a voice behind them said and Chip saw Bradfield standing behind them. "Drop the weapons and put your hands up. Now!"

After their weapons were taken, they were forced into the house.

"Put them in the basement," Bradfield said motioning at the men, then turned to Chip. "As for you, Commander, I have other plans."

As the others were led away, Chip was prodded in the back by the butt of Bradfield's gun.

"Move!" Bradfield ordered.


End file.
